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Chatham County, Georgia
Chatham County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is located on the state's Atlantic coast. The county seat and largest city is Savannah. One of the original counties of Georgia, Chatham County was created February 5, 1777, and is named after William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2016 population estimate for Chatham County was 289,082 residents,https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk making Chatham the most populous Georgia county outside the Atlanta metropolitan area. The official 2010 Census counted 265,128 residents in Chatham County. Chatham is the core county of the Savannah metropolitan area. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (32.6%) is water. Chatham County is the northernmost of Georgia's coastal counties on the Atlantic Ocean. It is bounded on the northeast by the Savannah River, and in the southwest bounded by the Ogeechee River. The bulk of Chatham County, an area with a northern border in a line from Bloomingdale to Tybee Island, is located in the Ogeechee Coastal sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin. The portion of the county north of that line is located in the Lower Savannah River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin, while the very southern fringes of the Chatham County are located in the Lower Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin. Major highways * Interstate 16 * Interstate 95 * Interstate 516 * U.S. Route 17 * U.S. Route 80 * State Route 17 * State Route 21 * State Route 21 Spur * State Route 25 * State Route 26 * State Route 26 Connector * State Route 30 * State Route 204 * State Route 204 Spur * State Route 307 * State Route 404 (unsigned designation for I-16) * State Route 404 Spur * State Route 405 (unsigned designation for I-95) * State Route 421 (unsigned designation for I-516) * Savannah River Parkway Adjacent counties *Jasper County, South Carolina – northeast *Bryan County – west/southwest *Liberty County - southeast *Effingham County – northwest National protected areas * Fort Pulaski National Monument * Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Wassaw National Wildlife Refuge Demographics |align-fn=center |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 }} As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 265,128 people, 103,038 households, and 64,613 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 119,323 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 52.8% white, 40.1% black or African American, 2.4% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 2.2% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 9.8% were Irish, 8.7% were English, 7.9% were German, and 4.6% were American. Of the 103,038 households, 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were married couples living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.3% were non-families, and 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 34.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $44,928 and the median income for a family was $54,933. Males had a median income of $42,239 versus $31,778 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,397. About 11.6% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.4% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over. Education headquarters]] Public schools are operated by Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools. Government and infrastructure The Coastal State Prison, a Georgia Department of Corrections state prison, is located in Savannah, near Garden City."City of Savannah Neighborhoods 2008 ." City of Savannah. Retrieved on September 15, 2010."Coastal State Prison ." Georgia Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 15, 2010. Chatham County is primarily policed by the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department (SCMPD) and the Georgia State Patrol. The Chatham County Sheriff's Office is the enforcement arm of the county court system and operates the county jail.http://www.chathamsheriff.org/Enforcement.aspx The SCMPD was formed on January 1, 2005 when the separate Savannah Police Department and Chatham County Police merged. Communities Municipalities Cities *Bloomingdale *Garden City *Pooler *Port Wentworth *Savannah *Tybee Island Towns *Thunderbolt *Vernonburg Census-designated places (unincorporated) *Dutch Island *Georgetown *Henderson *Isle of Hope *Montgomery *Skidaway Island *Talahi Island *Whitemarsh Island *Wilmington Island Other unincorporated communities *Pin Point *White Bluff *Sandfly Politics Chatham County was a swing area for much of the late 20th century. In the 21st century it has tended to vote much more for the Democratic party than the state as a whole in presidential elections. See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Chatham County, Georgia References External links *Official web site *Documents from Chatham County at the Digital Library of Georgia Category:Chatham County, Georgia Category:1777 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Settlements established in 1777 Category:Counties of Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Savannah metropolitan area